


Not In Reason Or In Prose

by carolinecrane



Series: Aftermath [23]
Category: The Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks (2001)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-05
Updated: 2011-05-05
Packaged: 2017-10-19 01:02:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/195170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The past doesn't always stay there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not In Reason Or In Prose

Marcus waits until Harlan turns the corner before he looks at Matt again. He knows how pissed Harlan is, and Marcus is tempted to ditch Matt and go after him, but he's more afraid of what will happen if Matt follows. Of what will happen if he opens his mouth about whatever he wants to say in front of Harlan, because Marcus would rather have Harlan be pissed at him about Matt than hate him forever because of what they did to his friends.

He's still watching the spot where Harlan disappeared, heart in his throat because Harlan didn't turn to look at him and Marcus isn't sure what that means, but it can't be good. And it would just figure Matt would pick the worst time possible to show up, but it's his own fault for hesitating when Harlan asked him to ditch school. If he'd just said yes right away they'd be on their way back to Harlan's house by now, and…

"Mary's dead."

That gets his attention, and Marcus forgets how mad Harlan is long enough to look at Matt. "What?"

"You heard me." Matt's voice is low, and he's looking around like he's worried somebody's going to overhear them. But there's no one in sight, and finally he relaxes enough to look at Marcus again. "Jon called, woke me up at like two o'clock in the fucking morning. Her parents found her…like, all over her room. Gutted, he said."

"Jesus. Jon didn't…"

"Of course not, man," Matt interrupts, mouth twisted into a disgusted grimace. "Come on, Marcus. He's our friend."

Marcus doesn't bother to correct him; he knows there's no point and anyway, Matt wouldn't get it even if Marcus tried to explain. They all know everything's different now, but if Matt needs to hold on to the idea that Jon's their friend, Marcus isn't going to take that away from him. "So what happened?"

"I don't know," Matt answers, looking around again and it's starting to creep Marcus out. Because Matt's never been all that paranoid; he was always the laid-back one, and if he's acting this edgy it must be bad. "He thinks Luc's back."

"What? No," Marcus says, but he feels all the blood drain out of his face and even as he says it he knows he's wrong. "He can't be, that teacher…angel…whatever the fuck she was, she killed him."

"He was a demon, man. Maybe he can't die."

"Yeah, but why Mary?" Marcus asks, hand in his hair to push it out of his eyes, and he can feel his fingers starting to shake. "Why not just kill Jon? Or one of us?"

"How the fuck should I know?" Matt sighs and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and offering one to Marcus. He takes one for himself before he tucks the pack away and pulls out his lighter, and Marcus notices that his hands are shaking a little as he lights their smokes. "Maybe he's trying to fuck with Jon's head. You know how obsessed Luc was with him, he wanted Jon more than he ever wanted either of us. Or maybe he's just trying to take away everything we have so we'll need him again. Maybe he still needs three souls or whatever."

None of this makes any sense, because Luc's supposed to be long gone, and Jon and Mary are supposed to be off somewhere living happily ever after. They're supposed to be getting on with their lives now, going to college and falling in love and…Harlan. His heart stops when he pictures Harlan's face, pictures that night around the circle when they all chose who they were supposed to kill. Jon's the only one who didn't go through with it, and Harlan's only alive because Jon wussed out. So if Luc's back…

His panic must show in his face, because Matt nods and exhales a puff of smoke before he says the words Marcus can't. "You have to tell him, man."

"I can't," Marcus says, bile rising in his throat at the thought of Harlan…and he can picture it, because he knows Harlan's room better than he knows his own room at his parents' house. Closes his eyes against the image of Harlan bloody and lifeless, a fresh wave of nausea making his stomach roll. "Jesus. I can't."

"You have to, man. You owe him that much, after…" Matt trails off when Marcus looks up sharply. "Look, all I'm saying is that if Luc is back, he's obviously out to ruin Jon's life. Maybe he doesn't care about you and me, but if he does, you're the only one with somebody to lose."

And he's right, but there's no way Marcus can tell Harlan about any of this. Even if he thought Harlan would believe him, there's no way he could look Harlan in the face and tell him they killed his best friends. And Randall…he was more than a friend, really, and even though Harlan says that didn't mean anything, Marcus isn't willing to take the chance. Not when there are other ways he can protect Harlan, and it won't even be that hard. Harlan's already mad at him, so all Marcus has to do is not try to fix it and it will all go away.

He knows Harlan – despite what Harlan thinks – knows how proud he is and knows that Harlan won't come crawling back to him. He'll expect Marcus to do the groveling, and when Marcus doesn't it will just…end. Just like it started, really, and maybe it's even better this way. Marcus tells himself he believes that, but the ball of lead in the pit of his stomach isn't going away and he has a feeling it won't any time soon.

"Maybe Luc just wants Jon. You said it yourself, he was obsessed."

"Maybe," Matt says, shrugging and taking another drag off his cigarette. "But that doesn't change the fact that he needed three."

"I can't tell him," Marcus says again, and he knows he's trying to convince himself just as much as Matt. "What if he goes to the cops?"

"We might be safer in prison," Matt answers, smiling mirthlessly when Marcus frowns at him. "Okay, okay. Look, you like the guy, right?"

"Yeah," Marcus says, and if he wasn't so freaked out he'd be embarrassed at what a girl he's turned into. "It's more than like."

For a second Matt looks surprised, but he recovers quickly and nods as he drops his cigarette on the ground and crushes it with his heel. "So he deserves a little warning, right? If you want him to have a fighting chance you've gotta tell him."

It makes sense. Marcus knows that, but knowing it and actually saying the words to Harlan are two different things. He's not even sure _how_ to say something like that, because 'oh, by the way, a demon possessed us and made us kill your two best friends, and now he might be coming for you' isn't exactly Marcus' idea of pillow talk. But he's probably never going to see Harlan's bed again anyway, not after the way Harlan looked at him right before he walked away.

"Has Jon actually seen Luc again?"

"No. But who else could it be?"

Marcus knows he's right, knows it's way too much of a coincidence to be anything else, but he still doesn't want to believe it. He doesn't want to _deal_ with it, not when his life is – was – actually starting to work out. And he definitely never thought Harlan would want him, but he does, and now Marcus is going to have to find a way to walk away from the one thing he's always wanted without getting Harlan killed in the process.

"I'll deal with it," he hears himself say, the sound of his voice far away like he's floating above himself, listening to the conversation. "I mean I'll find a way to make him understand."

"Good." For a second Matt just looks at him, and Marcus focuses on crushing out his own cigarette so he won't have to wonder what else Matt isn't saying. But when he looks up again Matt's still staring, and he frowns and runs shaking fingers through his hair again.

"What?"

"Just wondering how somebody falls for a guy like Ratcliff."

"He's not that bad once you get to know him," Marcus says, but he knows that answer falls way too short. Because there are a million things to love about Harlan, like the way he touches Marcus first thing in the morning or the way he smiles against Marcus' neck like Marcus is the best thing that's ever happened to him. Like this is what he's wanted for just as long as Marcus, and Marcus clears his throat against a sudden tightness.

"Right," Matt says, drawing the word out like he's not buying it. Or maybe he's just stalling while he thinks of how to say whatever else is on his mind, because a second later he's talking again, not quite looking at Marcus as he says the words. "You know, Marcus, if you'd said something…"

He wasn't expecting that, and his mind flashes to the memory of a night in Matt's room, porn on the VCR and Marcus trying not to watch his best friend jerk off. He always figured Matt just didn't care, but now…not that it matters if it was intentional, because he was already falling for Harlan by then. His reaction must show on his face, because Matt laughs and looks away.

"Maybe not, who knows. Guess I never really thought about it," Matt adds. He clears his throat before he turns back to Marcus, all traces of amusement gone. "Doesn't matter now anyway. You're going to tell him, right?"

"I just said I'd deal with it," Marcus answers, a little too defensive but he doesn't really care what Matt thinks. It's not Matt's problem; this is something Marcus has to deal with on his own, and there's nothing Matt can do to help.

"Cool." Matt glances around again to make sure they're still alone, then he leans in close and it's all Marcus can do not to back away. "Just do me a favor and watch your back. And if you see anything weird…"

"You'll be the first to know," Marcus says, and that must be what Matt wanted to hear, because a second later he's nodding and walking away, and Marcus is left to lean against the side of the dorm and wonder what the hell just happened.


End file.
